This invention relates to arrangements for balancing varying moments of the type produced in the drive train of a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine. German Offenlegungsschrift No. 37 20 559 discloses an arrangement for balancing varying moments which includes an additional balancing mass arranged on a secondary shaft and takes into account the gear ratio between the crankshaft and the secondary shaft in balancing the moments of inertia, and which is also effective in a constant rotational-speed range.
In internal combustion engines which are optimized in terms of weight and of friction efficiency and/or those which have a small volume, for example those with less than four cylinders, such balancing arrangements are not useful because of the additional cost of the components and the additional weight involved.
In German Offenlegungsschrift No. 27 13 403, a balancing arrangement is disclosed which employs a shift clutch as a balancing mass to compensate for torque reactions during changes in rotational speed, i.e., during acceleration. For this purpose, the shift clutch is arranged on an intermediate shaft which rotates at the same speed as the crankshaft but in the opposite direction. In addition, the intermediate shaft carries eccentrically arranged additional masses and extends out of one end of the crankcase. The shift clutch is arranged on the intermediate shaft directly behind the input for the intermediate shaft with respect to the direction application of the driving force or moment, and the output side of the shift clutch drives a transmission.